Modified exedins and uses thereof

ABSTRACT

Novel exendins with modifications at one or more of following positions: 2, 14, 27 or 28 and polyethylene glycol derivatives thereof are provided. These compounds are useful in treating type 2 diabetes as GLP-1 receptor agonists.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to long-lasting exendins and pharmaceutical acceptable salts thereof. To be more particular, the present invention relates to pegylated exendins and pharmaceutical acceptable salts thereof, and preparation method thereof as well as their uses in preventing and treating type 2 diabetes by regulating the blood glucose level due to the stimulation of the secretion of insulin from β-cell induced by the Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor acting with said compounds.

BACKGROUND ART

Recently, accompanying with the increased living standard, modernization of living style and aging of society, incidence of diabetes is also kept increasing on a yearly basic all over the world, of which the situation is especially obvious in developing countries. Diabetes has become the third major chronic non-communicable disease next to malignant tumors, cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, and constituted the major causes to death and disability. As reported in WHO report of 1997 that by that time there are 135 millions of people suffering from diabetes and 175 millions are expected to be reached by 2000. In China, a recent report shows that incidence of diabetes in the population of age over 20 is 3.21%. A preliminary estimation shows that there are at least 20 millions of diabetes patients in China nowadays, in which over 95% of them are type 2 diabetes patients. From 1987 to 1992, the annual outlay for direct or indirect uses in diabetes in United State increased from 1 billion to 92 billion US Dollars. In China, the outlay for treatment of diabetes is also increasing at an incredible speed. According to a related statistical analysis reported in 1993 that up to 2.2 billions dollars were spend on the treatment of diabetes at that time, in which neither the cost for the treatment of diabetes complications, outlay for out-hospital treatments and health care nor indirect loss in social economy were included.

Type 2 diabetes can be controlled by moderation of dietary intake, exercise and regulation of the blood-glucose level with medication. Commonly employed medication includes insulin, sulphonylurea, biguanide as well as Glitazone compounds. These compounds help only in promoting the blood-glucose level back to the normal level while unable to recover the impairments, especially to kidney, cardiovascular system, optical or nervous system caused by diabetes complications. These complications are closely associated with the increased mortality caused by diabetes. The major side effects inherent in the first generation of diabetic medications include low in blood-glucose level, increase in body-weight and dropsy. The acting mechanisms of these medications maybe different, however, none of them is able to protect the insulin-secreting β-cell, thereby, the in vivo blood glucose metabolism and incretion regulation cannot be maintained in normal condition. In most cases, consecutive use of a single medicine renders it no longer effective, which gives rise to the application of combined drug treatment. Since diabetes patients take blood pressure-lowering and cholesterol reducing drugs simultaneously during treatment, the long-term effect of this treatment is not stable. Therefore, development of new medications to cooperate with current medications for the regulation of blood glucose level, and to achieve the objects in protecting and recovering the functionality of β-cell as well as adjusting incretion in response to food intake would result in a great improvement in diabetic treatment.

Investigation of Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist is a likely topic. Investigation and development in this field may open a new chapter in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Glucagon-like peptide-1 was firstly discovered in 1984, which is a kind of intestinal secretion hormones. If type 2 diabetics were injected with this hormone, their blood glucose level can be adjusted to a normal level (Nathan, D M, et al. Diabetes Care 1992; 15:270-6; Zander, M, et al. Lancet 2002; 359:824-30). It was reported that action of Glucagon-like peptide and receptor agonist thereof is mainly caused by insulin secretion induced by activating the Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor on the surface of the pancreas β-cell. Since this effect depends on the in vivo blood glucose level, fatal hypoglycemic shock caused by the extremely low blood glucose level even in the presence of Glucagon-like peptide and receptor agonist thereof would not occur like the traditional medication does. More particularly, when the in vivo blood glucose level is higher than 6 mmol/L, GLP-1 remarkably stimulates secretion of insulin, whereas when the in vivo blood glucose level reaches the normal level, the stimulation discontinue. Also, this type of agonist stimulates the proliferation of pancreas β-cell of rodent (rat) and also enhances the action of β-cell tissue. The function that allows the recovery of the pancreas β-cell opens up prospects for the treatment of type 2 diabetes by at least delaying the onset of type 1 diabetes from type 2 diabetes. Meanwhile the Glucagon-like peptide and receptor agonist thereof is able to inhibit the secretion of glucagon, and thereby make it possible to reduce the output of blood glucose from liver. More importantly, this type of agonist reduces the dietary intake by inhibiting the gastrointestinal peristalsis and gastric emptying, thereby reduces the body weight and also helps in controlling the body weight of type 2 diabetics.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

The objective of the present invention is to provide long-lasting pegylated exendins and pharmaceutical acceptable salts thereof. They can induce the secretion of insulin and decrease the blood glucose level by activating Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor and thereby useful in treating and preventing type 2 diabetes. This type of compounds have a long retention time in vivo and exhibits a prolonged action therein. The prolonged retention is not only due to the delay of renal excretion caused by pegylation, but also due to the improved in vivo enzymatic and chemical stability of the peptide backbone resulted from the pegylation. Pegylation ensures the long-lasting effect of these compounds and thereby reduces the injection times to patients, and patients may get the benefits of improved quality and effectiveness of such therapy.

More particularly, the present invention relates to, but is not limited to all pegylated polypeptide precursors listed in the sequence table, and compounds modified with polyethylene glycol with various molecular weights, and pharmaceutical acceptable salts thereof.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a method for the preparation of long-lasting pegylated exendins and pharmaceutical acceptable salts thereof.

Still another objective of the present invention is to provide the use of the long-lasting exendins and/or pharmaceutical acceptable salts thereof as a Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist in treating and preventing type 2 diabetes.

The following technical solutions achieve the objectives of the present invention. The present invention relates to exendins and pharmaceutical acceptable salts thereof whose peptide backbone possesses optimized in vivo enzymatic and chemical stability. Particularly, the present invention relates to exendins comprising (A) amino acid sequences of SEQ ID Nos 4 to 141, (B) amino acid sequences substantially identical to those of SEQ ID Nos. 4 to 141.

The present invention also relates to exendins and pharmaceutical acceptable salts thereof derived from single or multiple pegylation at position 2, 14, 27, 28 of the exendins amino acid sequences of SEQ ID Nos. 4 to 141, in which molecular weight of said polyethylene glycol is within the range of 5,000 to 80,000, preferably 20,000 to 60,000. The amino acids of the exendins of the present invention possess critical sites for modification, which include position 2, 14, 27, 28 of the amino acid sequences of exendins.

Also, the objective of the present invention is to provide a method for the preparation of the above-mentioned exendins and pharmaceutical acceptable salts thereof, which includes solid-phase and solution-phase synthesis, purification by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography, ion-exchange and gel filtration, and lyophilization.

The present invention further provides the use of the exendins or pegylated exendins and pharmaceutical acceptable salts thereof in treating and/or preventing type 2 diabetes.

Clinic trails show that when type 2 diabetics, whose blood glucose level was poorly controlled, were subjected to Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) treatment, their fasting blood glucose level become normal (Gutniak, et al., New Eng. J. Med. 326:1316-1322, 1992). Long term administration of Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) can restore the functions of β-cell to normal level (Rachman, et al., Diabetes 45:1524-1530, 1996). Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) can restore the glucose-response function of β-cell in those patients having functional imperfection of glucose tolerance (Byrne, et al., Diabetes 47:1259-1265, 1998). Since Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is readily inactivated by dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP IV) in vivo and many cleavage-points for other endopeptidase (NEP24.11) are present in the Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), the in vivo lasting time of Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is short. Promising therapeutic effects of Glucagon-like peptide 1 can be achieved only by means of continuous administration. In this regard, researchers focus on the development of a more stable Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, mainly formed as modified Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). More importantly, in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, Eng et al. isolated Exendin-4 from the saliva secretion organs of the Gila monster (Heloderma Sespectrum) in southwestern America (Eng, J. et al., J. Biol. Chem., 265:20259-62, 1990, Eng, J., et al. J. Biol. Chem., 267:7402-05, 1992). Exendin-4 is a polypeptide having 39 amino acids, which shows 53% homology with Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). Exendin-4 shows affinity to GLP-1 receptor, and it possesses stronger ability than GLP-1. Its ability in adjusting glucose metabolism is better than GLP-1; its minimum concentration for the stimulation of insulin secretion is lower than GLP-1; and more importantly, the in vivo half-life of Exendin-4 is longer than that of GLP-1 (Kudsen, L. B. J. Med. Chem. 47:4128-4134, 2004). These are mainly due to the unique enzymatic stability of Exendin-4, which is originated from the elimination of the cleavage-sites of endopeptidase (such as NEP24.11).

Compounds which possess the function of Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, such as GLP-1 (7-36), GLP-1 (7-37), Exendin-4 and other derivatives of GLP-1 and Exendin-4, have been widely reported in many publications, which include WO98/43658, WO00/15224, WO00/66629, WO01/98331, WO01/04156, U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,618, U.S. Pat. No. 5,118, WO03/058203, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/395,738, WO04/022004 and their references cited therein.

Naturally existing GLP-1 receptor agonists are provided in the following table:

SEQ ID Peptide Sequence NO GLP-1 HAEGTFTSDV SSYLEGQAAK EFIAWLVKGR-NH2 1 (7-36) GLP-1 HAEGTFTSDV SSYLEGQAAK EFIAWLVKGRG 2 (7-37) Exendin-4 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPS-NH2 3

Abbreviation in the above sequences: H (His) histidine, A (Ala) alanine, E (Glu) glutamic acid, G (Gly) glycin, T (Thr) threonine, F (Phe) phenylalanine, S (Ser) serine, D (Asp) aspartic acid, V (Val) valine, Y (Tyr) tyrosine, L (Leu) leucine, Q (Gln) glutamine, K (Lys) lysine, I (Ile) isoleucine, R (Arg) arginine, M (Met) methionine, N (Asn) asparagine, P (Pro) proline.

Although more stable GLP-1 receptor agonists have been developed in many laboratories, their in vivo lasting time is still short, and thereby development of long-lasting derivatives of exendins acting as GLP-1 receptor agonists is in great demand. Since the window for the therapeutic effect and side effect (vomit and nausea) is relatively narrower, the use of sustained release formulation affords only a small chance of success. The only possible way to obtain a long-lasting GLP-1 receptor agonist is to prepare a stable compound having sufficiently long in vivo retention time.

Incorporation of polyethylene glycol into active protein or polypeptide increases the retention time of active protein and polypeptide. This technology has been successfully applied in many protein-based biological drugs, such as PEG-Intron, PEGASYS, Neulasta and Somavert and the like. The methods and chemistry for the incorporation of polyethylene glycol into protein and peptide backbone are provided in relevant references, such as the review by Veronese (Veronese, F M, Biomaterial 2001 22:405-417). In view of the fact that both GLP-1 and Exendin-4 belong to GLP-1 receptor, U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,286 and PCT WO98/05351 disclose the comparative experiments of GLP-1 and Exendin-4 in terms of their in vivo insulinotropic secretion function. The experiments showed that Exendin-4 exhibited a stronger and longer in vivo effect than GLP-1 due to its higher stability against the in vivo polypeptide hydrolase (DPP IV, NEP24.11 and the like). PCT WO2004/022004 discloses the pegylated GLP-1 receptor agonist, and proposes that when polyethylene glycol with molecular weight more than 30,000 daltons is employed, side effects, such as nausea and vomit, caused by the activation of the intracephalic GLP-1 receptor, are unlikely to occur with the resulting derivatives. It indicates that pegylated GLP-1 receptor agonist does not only prolong the in vivo acting time, but also minimize its side effects. However, this type of compounds show no improvement in the in vivo enzymatic and chemical stability of their polypeptide backbone in addition to the limitation in their in vivo or in vitro activity, which limits this type of compound acting as desired long-lasting therapeutic agent. The reduced in vivo and in vitro activity may increase the production cost of long-lasting therapeutic agent. In view of the above reasons, using Exendin-4 backbone as the precursor in pegylation may afford a greater chance of success in preparing long-lasting therapeutic agent, in which the polypeptide backbone possesses better enzymatic stability. Although PCT WO00/66629 discloses the resulting compounds and methods involving Exendin-4 as the precursor in pegylation, there is still a long way to go for a successful preparation of a long-lasting therapeutic agent with low production cost. It is because cleavage is likely to occur to His-Gly residue at the N-terminal by dipeptidyl peptidase (such as DPP IV), which renders the GLP-1 receptor agonist inactive no matter that Exendin-4 is able to prolong the in vivo retention time from a few hours to several dozen of hours, or even longer. Meanwhile, the long-lasting pegylated GLP-1 receptor agonist should have good chemical stability, especially at the in vivo temperature, i.e., 37° C., which is highly required for Exendin-4, of which the methionine residue at position 14 of Exendin-4 backbone is readily undergone oxidation giving rise to the mutation of its biological activity, by which preparation of therapeutic agent is made troublesome; and furthermore, hydrolysis of the asparagine residue at position 28 is the major cause for the inactivation of therapeutic agent as well as the preparation problem, the mechanism of hydrolysis is shown as below:

From the mechanism, it shows that hydrolysis of the five-membered ring derived from asparagine does not only decrease the activity of GLP-1 receptor agonist, but also cause to the separation of polyethylene glycol from the polypeptide backbone, and thereby adversely effect the in vivo retention time of the long-lasting compound. Accordingly, modification on glycine at position 2 enhances the enzymatic and chemical stability of the Exendin-4 polypeptide backbone; and modifications on methionine at position 14 and on asparagine at position 28 enhance the chemical stability of Exendin-4 polypeptide backbone as well. PCT WO00/66629 emphasizes on the preparation of polyethylene glycol conjugate via acylation with the amino group of the lysine side chain incorporated during pegylation of Exendin-4. Since Exendin-4 itself possesses lysine, selectivity of the acylation reaction is only achievable with suitable use of protecting groups, and thus renders the production cost higher. By locating the connection point between the polyethylene glycol for modification and the regiospecific group at the carboxyl terminal (C-terminal) of the polypeptide, action between the polypeptide and the receptor would not be affected by the polyethylene glycol, whereas a regiospecific reaction can be achieved, and thereby lowers the production cost.

The present invention discloses a series of derivatives of Exendin-4 pegylated at position 2, 14, 27, or 28, as well as the exendins obtained from pegylation conducted with these polypeptide backbones. These pegylated exendins exhibit long-lasting effect in vivo, which can be formulated as long-lasting therapeutic agent for injection use.

The exendins of the present invention allows the in vivo and in vitro activation of the GLP-1 receptor which locates on the surface of β-cell, which further allows the secretion of insulin and thereby lowers the blood glucose level. Examples of the exendins include, but not limited to, the polypeptide sequences in table 1 as well as those pegylated compounds. Serine at position 39, where pegylation takes place, can be substituted with cysteine or other mercapto-containing synthetic amino acid. Similarly, multiple pegylations can be achieved in the following way, in which two or more mercapto-containing amino acids (such as cysteine) are added to the carboxyl terminal, and the resulting elongated polypeptides derivatives may serve as the pegylation precursor. The general formula for the precursor of two-site modification is Cys₍₃₉₎-(Xaa)_(n−1)-Cys_((n+39)), wherein n=0-10, Xaa is any one of the amino acids.

The above-mentioned polypeptides can be prepared by chemical synthetic methods, which include liquid-phase synthesis of fragment, solid-phase synthesis (see Merrifield, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1963, 85:2149-2154), or combined method of solid-phase and liquid-phase; polypeptide synthesis can be conducted manually or automatically. Applied Biosystems 431A polypeptide synthesizer, Csbio polypeptide synthesizer and the like can be employed in automatic synthesis; and also combinatorial synthesis can be used in polypeptide synthesis.

Purification by preparative HPLC is required for the polypeptides prepared by chemical synthetic method, reveres phase materials are commonly used as the column packing materials (such as C₄, or C₈, or C₁₈). In vivo and in vitro studies of the therapeutic effectiveness are only allowed after characterizations with analytical identifications (such as high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), mass spectroscopy (MS), amino acids analysis (AAA)). After purification by preparative HPLC, products can be afford after lyophilization

Polyethylene glycol can be purchased from a variety of suppliers or synthesized by common methods. Molecular weight of polyethylene glycol is usually within the range of 5,000-80,000 daltons, preferably 20,000-60,000 daltons and more preferably about 40,000 daltons.

Polyethylene glycol should be connected with polypeptide at the C-terminal of the polypeptide, so as to minimize the interferences caused by the polyethylene glycol to the action between polypeptide and the receptor. That is to say, polyethylene glycol may connect to any residues locating between positions 29 to 39, which involves substitutions of any one or any few of the amino acids with mercapto-containing amino acid (such as cysteine). In the case of single pegylation, it is better to substitute serine locating at position 39, carboxyl terminal with cysteine; similarly, in the case of two-site modification, the best way is to substitute serine at position 39 with cysteine and add another cysteine at position 40 or 39+n (n=1-10).

The method for bonding to polyethylene glycol via cysteine or mercapto are widely described in many publications (see Veronese, Biomaterials 2001, 22:405-417). People skilled in the art can link polyethylene glycol with mercapto-containing exendins.

Particularly, bonding via mercapto group can be achieved by way of the following:

1) Mercapto group originates from polypeptide chain. Achieved by incorporating the undermentioned amino acid:

By this time, polyethylene glycol should possess Michael addition acceptor, such as the double bond of maleimide, halogen or sulfonic acid esters substituted groups. Bonding is achieved by forming a thioether bond between polypeptide and polyethylene glycol. 2) Mercapto group originates from the side chain of the amino acid of a modified polypeptide, for example, mercapto group connects with the amino group of the lysine side chain. The amino acid with its side chain modified in the form of the following formula:

By this time, polyethylene glycol should possess Michael addition acceptor, such as the double bond in maleimide, halogen and sulfonic acid esters substituted groups; bonding is achieved by forming a thioether bond between polypeptide and polyethylene glycol.

3) Mercapto group originates from polyethylene glycol. By this time, the connection point in the polypeptide should contain Michael addition acceptor, such as the double bond in maleimide, halogen and sulfonate substituted groups. Bonding is achieved by forming a thioether bond between polypeptide and polyethylene glycol. 4) If both polyethylene glycol and polypeptide contain Mercapto groups, bonding can be achieved via the formation of asymmetric disulfide bond.

Preferably, covalent bond between polyethylene glycol and polypeptide of the present invention is achieved by the formation of a thioether bond in between. However, it is not the only way to link polyethylene glycol with the polypeptide sequence disclosed in the present invention. Other connection methods, such as acylation, reductive amination and oxime formation, are also included in the present invention.

The polypeptide derivatives listed in table 1 are suitable precursors for pegylation. However, they are included in the present invention by way of illustration only and the present invention is not limited to these sequences. In the sequence table, preferred sequences are selected from SEQ ID NO 80 to SEQ ID NO 141.

These pegylated exendins and polypeptide precursors thereof are amphoteric compounds, which can react with acids or bases to form salts. Commonly employed acids for salt formation are selected from hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, hydriodic acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid, methanesulfonic acid, oxalic acid, p-bromobenzene sulfonic acid, carbonic acid, succinic acid, citric acid, benzoic acid, acetic acid, trifluoroacetic acid and the like. Examples of these salts include sulfate, pyrosulfate, hydrosulfate, sulfite, bisulphite, phosphate, hydrophosphate, dihydric phosphate, metaphosphate, pyrophosphate, hydrochloride, hydrobromide, hydriodate, acetate, propionate, caprate, caprylate, acrylate, formiate, isobutyrate, caproate, heptylate, propiolate, oxalate, malonate, succinate, suberate, sebacate, fumarate, maleate, butyne-1,4-dioate, hexyne-1,6-dioate, benzoate, chlorobenzoate, p-methylbenzoate, dinitrobenzoate, hydroxybenzoate, methoxybenzoate, phenylacetate, phenylpropionate, phenylbutyrate, citrate, lactate, r-hydroxybutyrate, glycerate, tartarate, methanesulfonate, propanesulfonate, naphthalene-1-sulfonate, naphthalene-2-sulfonate, mandelate and the like. Preferred acid addition salt is selected from hydrochloride, sulfate, acetate, trifluoroacetate; commonly employed bases for salt formation are selected from sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, ammonia, potassium carbonate and the like.

The exendins of the present invention, particularly the pegylated exendins, can be used in preventing and treating type 2 diabetes, especially to those patients who present abnormal secretion caused by overweight or even obesity, due to their potential in recovering β-cell.

Accordingly, the present invention also relates a method for the treatment and prevention of type 2 diabetes, wherein effective dosage of the exendins of the present invention is administered to patients who in need thereof.

The exendins of the present invention can be used alone, and more suitably used in combination with other anti-diabetic medicaments (such as PPAR agonist, sulphonylurea, non-sulphonylurea (Secretagogues), α-glucosidase inhibitor, insulin sensitizer, insulin Secretagogues, glycogen-releasing inhibitor, insulin and other anti-obesity medicaments) in the treatment of diabetes.

Clinical dosage should be determined according to the actual therapeutic effectiveness of the various compounds, which is in the range of 0.0001 mg/kg to about 200 mg/kg body weight, preferably from 0.001 mg/kg to 20 mg/kg body weight, most preferably from 0.01 mg/kg to 1 mg/kg body weight. Routes of administration include injection methods (including intravenous, intramuscular and subcutaneous injection) or other continuous injection methods. These compounds can be formulated in a variety of preparations, and administered by conventional routes of administration, such as oral and transdermal administration, pulmonary, nasal, buccal spray, suppository administration and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows the LC-MS spectrum of SEQ ID No 95.

FIG. 2 shows the influence of PEG-EX-4 analogue on Glucose Tolerance of db/db mice on the first day of subcutaneous injection.

FIG. 3 shows the influence of PEG-EX-4 analogue on Glucose Tolerance of db/db mice on the third day after subcutaneous injection.

FIG. 4 shows the influence of PEG-EX-4 analogue on Glucose Tolerance of db/db mice on the sixth day after subcutaneous injection.

FIG. 5 shows the influence of PEG-EX-4 analogue on Glucose Tolerance of db/db mice on the ninth day after subcutaneous injection.

FIG. 6 shows the reduction effect on blood glucose level of mice after subcutaneous injection of PEG-EX-4 analogue (1100 μg/kg).

FIG. 7 shows the reduction effect on blood glucose level of mice after subcutaneous injection of PEG-EX-4 analogue (3300 μg/kg).

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The examples provided hereinafter assist in better understanding the present invention, which are not intended to limit the present invention.

Example 1 Solid-phase Synthesis of Compound SEQ ID No 95 of the Present Invention

(1) Amino Acid Monomers Used in the Synthesis Fmoc-His(Trt)-OH, Fmoc-dAla-OH, Fmoc-Gly-OH, Fmoc-Glu(OtBu)-OH, Fmoc-Thr(tBu)-OH, Fmoc-Phe-OH, Fmoc-Ser(tBu)-OH, Fmoc-Asp(OtBu)-OH, Fmoc-Leu-OH, Fmoc-Lys(Boc)-OH, Fmoc-Gln(Trt)-OH, Fmoc-Nle-OH, Fmoc-Ala-OH, Fmoc-Val-OH, Fmoc-Arg (pbf)-OH, Fmoc-Ile-OH, Fmoc-Trp(Boc)-OH, Fmoc-Asn(Trt)-OH, Fmoc-Pro-OH, Fmoc-Cys(Trt)-OH

Abbreviation of the above: Fmoc: 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl; Boc: tert-butoxycarbonyl; Trt: trityl; OtBu: t-butoxy; tBu: t-butyl.

(2) The Reagents used: N,N-diisopropylethylamine, diisopropylcarbodiimide (DIC),

-   -   N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), dichloromethane, hexahydropyridine,         1-hydroxybenzotriazole, Rink amide resin, ninhydrin, methanol,         anisole, triisopropylsilane, trifluoroacetic acid.

(3) Experimental Procedure

-   -   A. Synthesis: To 0.5 g (0.25 mmole) Rink amide resin in a         reactor vessel, 1 mmol amino acid was added, activation was         conducted with DIC/HOBT method, and the synthesis was conducted         starting from C-terminal to N-terminal according to the         polypeptide sequence. The reaction was conducted at 25° C. (room         temperature) following the operating procedure below:         -   1. Fmoc group was deprotected by treating with 20%             hexahydropyridine in DMF, 10 min for each time.         -   2. The resins were washed with 10 mL DMF for three times,             and then dried with pump.         -   3. The protected amino acid (1 mmol) and HOBT (1 mmol) were             weighed out and then dissolved in 10 ml DMF followed by             addition of DIC (1 mmol), and then activated for 10 minutes.         -   4. The activated amino acid solution was added to the             reactor vessel and then shaked for 1 hour.         -   5. The resins were washed with DMF for three times, and then             dried with pump.         -   6. Steps 1-5 were repeated for the next cycle in the case of             negative result for the ninhydrin test, whereas steps 3-5             were repeated in the case of positive result for the             ninhydrin test.

After the synthesis of polypeptides, the resins were completely washed with methanol and then dried in air.

-   -   B. Deprotection of the Protecting Groups and Cleavage of         Polypeptides

To 1 g resin having the polypeptide in the reactor vessel was added the cleavage solution in the following proportion.

Solvents Amount (mL) Anisole 2 Methanol 2 Triisopropylsilane 2 Trifluoroacetic Acid 6

The content in reactor vessel was shaked for 2 hours at room temperature, and then filtered. The filtrate was collected and the resins were washed with a slight amount of acetic acid. The collection fluids were combined. After concentration, ethylether was added and precipitate was generated. Precipitate was washed with a slight amount of ethylether to afford the crude product.

-   -   C. Purification with High Performance Liquid Chromatography and         Lyophilization

The resulting crude product was dissolved in 10% acetic acid solution, the solution was injected into the HPLC system for purification, followed by lyophilization to afford the product. The resulting polypeptide was analyzed and confirmed as the desired compound using Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.

Column: luna C18 (2), 5μ, 100 Å

Detective wavelength: λ=220 nm, Waters preparative system

Gradient: (TFA: trifluoroacetic acid)

T (minute) A: (0.05% TFA) CH₃CN B: (0.05TFA) H₂O 0 10% 90% 20 45% 55% 30 45% 55% 30.1 10% 90%

The molecular weight of the resulting compound: 4212.6 g/mol; the theoretical molecular weight: 4213 g/mol.

FIG. 1: LC-MS spectrum of SEQ ID No 95

Example 2 Method for Pegylation of Exendins

Pegylation of exendins can be conducted with conventional method. Pegylation of peptides is achieved by modifying mercapto group in the formation of a thioether bond between polyethylene glycol and peptide. To be more particular, one or more cysteines were added to the carboxyl-terminal of the optimized Exendin-4 derivatives, followed by pegylation conducted by using polyethylene glycol which contains the Maleimide functional group. Thioether bond was formed after Michael addition reaction, and thereby polypeptide was covalently bonded with the polyethylene glycol. In general, the desired polypeptide was dissolved in 0.1M phosphate buffer solution, followed by addition of polyethylene glycol under anaerobic environment. The molar ratio of polyethylene glycol to polypeptide was 1:1 and the pH of the reaction was 6 to 7.5. Oxidation of the mercapto group may be reduced by addition of EDTA to the reaction solution. After two hours, the reaction solution was purified with reverse-phase HPLC system. Excess or unreacted polyethylene glycol was removed by ion-exchange chromatography. The molecular weight of the resulting product was analyzed and confirmed by mass spectrum. The purity of the product was analyzed with RP-HPLC and Gel-chromatography. Taking the modification of SEQ ID NO 95 as an example, when 43KD PEG was employed in modification, the yield was 70-90% (based on polyethylene glycol).

Example 3 Test for the Stability of the Polypeptide

The Exendin-4 derivatives of the present invention possess the optimized enzymatic and chemical stability. The following method was used to determine the chemical stability of some polypeptides in the present invention.

1 mg of each sample was dissolved in a buffer solution, which contains 150 mM sodium chloride and 20 mM phosphate, from which a solution of concentration of 4 mg/ml was prepared and its pH is 8.0. The testing sample solutions were placed in a thermostat of 40° C. LC-MS was used to determine the purity of polypeptide. Correlation between the reduction ratio of the main peak area and time reflects the chemical stability of the polypeptide.

TABLE 2 Determination of the stability of Exendin-4 based compounds Purity (%) 0 day 5^(th) day 10^(th) day 15^(th) day Sample 1 98.2 88.0 81.6 76.2 Sample 2 98 93.1 90.4 88.2 Sample 3 98.9 98.8 98.8 98.8 Sample 4 99.7 99.4 99.0 99.3

wherein, sample 1 is Exendin-4 as control, and the sequence is:

His-Gly²-Glu-Gly-Thr-Phe-Thr-Ser-Asp-Leu-Ser-Lys-Gln-Met¹⁴-Glu-Glu-Glu-Ala-Val-Arg-Leu-Phe-Ile-Glu-Trp-Leu-Lys-Asn²⁸-Gly-Gly-Pro-Ser-Ser-Gly-Ala-Pro-Pro-Pro-Ser³⁹.

Sample 2: 2#Gly in sample 1 was substituted with d-Ala, and 39# was substituted with Cys.

Sample 3: 2#Gly in sample 1 was substituted with d-Ala, and 14# Met was substituted with Nle, 28#Asn was substituted with Gln.

Sample 4: sample 2 is covalently bonded with PEG40K via Cys at the C-terminal of sample 2; wherein all the C-terminal of samples 1-4 are amide.

Conclusion:

The sequence of sample 1 is a polypeptide sequence that can be isolated from nature. His-Gly residue at the N-terminal is an ideal substrate for dipeptidase and Met that contained in sample 1 readily undergoes oxidization, and also Asn undergoes self-reaction readily, which render sample 1 unstable. Substitution at position 2, or 14, or 28 greatly improve the stability of the peptides; in addition, substitution at all the 3 positions allows a greater improvement in the stability of the peptides than substitution of His-Gly with His-dAla alone. Although sample 2 is not very stable, it become very stable after bonding with PEG40K (i.e. sample 4), which shows that PEG is useful in enhancing the stability of polypeptide.

Example 4 Formulation

PEG-EX-4 analogue   5 g m-Cresol 0.04 g Iced acetic acid Appropriate amount Iced sodium acetate Appropriate amount Injection water Appropriate amount 100 ml/100 bottles Sterile Preparation

Experimental Example 1 Oral Glucose Tolerance Test of Polypeptide

Polypeptide of SEQ ID NO 25 was modified with polyethylene glycol of molecular weight of about 40000 (sample 5). Oral glucose tolerance test was then conducted with normal mice and the results were presented in the following tables:

Table 1. Subcutaneous injections of sample 5 with various dosages were administered to normal mice. The influences on the oral glucose tolerance and the area under the curve of the blood glucose level on the first day and the third day after subcutaneous injections were given. (The First Day)

Blood Glucose level (mg/dl) AUC Group 0 min 30 min 60 min 120 min (mg · h/dl) physiological 129.7 ± 8.1  223.2 ± 33.4 167.7 ± 34.5 98.1 ± 12.1 318.8 ± 42.9 saline Sample 5 (20) 116.6 ± 10.8  95.7 ± 9.9***  88.9 ± 28.6*** 65.4 ± 5.1*** 176.4 ± 22.0*** Sample 5 (80) 122.2 ± 9.1   92.1 ± 12.4***  76.7 ± 8.7*** 64.9 ± 7.5*** 166.6 ± 16.7*** v.s Con ***P < 0.001; n = 10 (The Third Day)

Blood glucose level (mg/dl) AUC Group 0 min 30 min 60 min 120 min (mg · h/dl) physiological 97.3 ± 19.8 193.6 ± 35.3 171.0 ± 46.7 91.8 ± 18.8 295.3 ± 54.0 saline Sample 5 (20) 96.2 ± 8.6  172.8 ± 33.2 132.1 ± 12.4* 88.3 ± 7.8  253.6 ± 24.4* Sample 5 (80) 89.5 ± 9.3  149.3 ± 32.4** 108.6 ± 8.8*** 77.1 ± 8.4* 217.0 ± 21.9*** v.s Con, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001; n = 10

Experimental Example 2 Influence of PEG-EXENDIN-4 (PEG-EX-4) Analogue on Type 2 Diabetes db/db Mice

1. Testing animals: species, strains: db/db mice, source: Model Animal Center of Nanjing University, body weights of mice: 35 g-50 g, male and female in half. Numbers of animal: 45, 5-6 mice in each group. Rearing conditions: rearing in SPF grade animal housing, temperature: 22° C.-24° C., humidity: 45%-80%, illumination: 150 Lx-300 Lx, under the 12 h-light and 12 h-dark cycle condition. 2. Test Method:

Dosage setting up: 5 administration groups: 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 1 and 3 mg/kg; and a blank control group as well; route of administration: subcutaneous injection; volume of administration: 0.05 ml/kg body weight.

(1) Influence on Blood Glucose Level of Non-Fasting db/db Mice

According to the non-fasting blood glucose level and body weight of mice, db/db mice were divided into blank control group and another 5 groups to be administered with PEG-EX-4 analogue, 6 mice in each group, and male and female in half. Animals in each group were administered with the testing drug and physiological saline, respectively, by a single subcutaneous injection. Blood glucose level was detected before administration and also 1, 2, 4, 8, 24 hours after administration. Thereafter, the non-fasting blood glucose level was detected every 24 hours. The lasting time for the reduction of blood glucose level of the testing drugs as well as the variation in food intake and body weights after administration were observed.

(2) Influence on Blood Glucose Level of Fasting db/db Mice

According to the non-fasting, fasting blood glucose level and body weight of mice, db/db mice were divided into blank control group and another 5 groups to be administered with PEG-EX-4 analogue, 6 mice in each group, and male and female in half. After fasting for 5 hours, animals in each group were administered with the testing drug and physiological saline, respectively, by a single subcutaneous injection. Blood glucose level was detected before administration and also 1, 2 hours after administration. Thereafter, the non-fasting and fasting blood glucose level was detected every 24 hours. The lasting time for the reduction of blood glucose level of the testing drug as well as the variation in food intake and body weights after administration were observed.

(3) Influence on Fasting Blood Glucose Level of db/db Mice

According to the fasting blood glucose level and body weight of mice, db/db mice were divided into blank control group and another 5 groups to be administered with PEG-EX-4 analogue, and 5 mice in each group. After fasting for 5 hours, animals in each group were administered with the testing drug and physiological saline, respectively, by a single subcutaneous injection. 2.5 g/kg of glucose was taken orally 15 minutes after the above administration. After that, blood glucose level was detected immediately after taking glucose (0 min) and also 30, 60 and 120 minutes after taking glucose. Oral glucose tolerance test was conducted on the third day, sixth day and ninth day, respectively, after the drug administration. The influences of the testing drug on the glucose tolerance of db/db as well as its lasting time and the variation in food intake and body weights after administration were observed.

3. Test Results: the Results for the Influences of Peg-Ex-4 Analogue on Blood Glucose Level of Db/Db Mice were Presented and Summarized in FIGS. 2-5 and Tables 1-6.

(1) Influence on Blood Glucose Level of Fasting and Non-Fasting db/db Mice

TABLE 1 Influence of subcutaneous injection of PEG-EX-4 analogue on fasting blood glucose level of db/db mice (mean value ± SD, n = 6) Before Dosage administration After administration (hrs) Group μg/kg 0 1 2 24 48 Blank — 11.53 ± 5.73 11.77 ± 6.69  10.27 ± 7.16  11.07 ± 4.46 10.07 ± 4.66 control PEG-EX-4 0.03 11.28 ± 2.68 8.40 ± 2.02 6.75 ± 2.02  8.58 ± 2.17 10.97 ± 4.09 analogue 0.1 11.08 ± 5.65 6.70 ± 4.35 5.85 ± 4.60  9.12 ± 4.84 11.23 ± 5.89 0.3 11.15 ± 3.33  5.13 ± 1.83* 3.78 ± 0.73  5.80 ± 2.63*  6.77 ± 2.18 1 11.42 ± 3.74  4.73 ± 1.91* 3.78 ± 0.83  3.93 ± 0.95**  5.03 ± 1.36* 3 11.00 ± 3.66  3.62 ± 1.07*  3.05 ± 0.67*  4.03 ± 1.20**  3.65 ± 0.76** Dosage After administration (hrs) Group μg/kg 72 96 120 144 168 192 Blank — 11.53 ± 6.33  14.90 ± 6.81  14.32 ± 6.61  14.38 ± 5.10 13.53 ± 7.04 13.20 ± 6.27 control PEG-EX-4 0.03 — — — — — — analogue 0.1 — — — — — — 0.3 8.27 ± 2.59 10.60 ± 3.04  11.15 ± 4.98  11.70 ± 3.76 12.60 ± 3.84 — 1 7.15 ± 3.10  8.07 ± 2.29*  8.13 ± 1.21* 10.75 ± 1.87 11.07 ± 2.65 12.12 ± 1.31 3 5.80 ± 2.19  6.03 ± 1.09*  5.70 ± 2.23*  7.70 ± 2.64*  9.17 ± 2.32 11.43 ± 2.26

TABLE 2 Influence of subcutaneous injections of PEG-EX-4 analogue on daily non- fasting blood glucose level of db/db mice (mean value ± SD, n = 6) Before administration After administration (hrs) Group Dosage μg/kg 0 24 48 72 96 120 144 168 Blank — 14.70 ± 6.87 17.18 ± 4.47 15.22 ± 5.16 15.45 ± 6.02 16.13 ± 6.96 15.12 ± 8.05 15.45 ± 5.91 15.25 ± 6.17 control PEG- 0.03 14.73 ± 5.00 13.42 ± 4.19 12.88 ± 4.50 15.92 ± 5.39 — — — — EX-4 analogue 0.1 14.52 ± 6.01 15.32 ± 6.62 16.22 ± 3.61 — — — — — 0.3 14.08 ± 2.66 11.35 ± 5.96 11.57 ± 3.07 15.78 ± 3.56 15.17 ± 2.60 14.17 ± 4.48 13.53 ± 4.50 13.72 ± 3.89 1 14.30 ± 3.79  7.02 ± 2.49***  9.17 ± 4.45 13.73 ± 7.09 13.63 ± 5.48 12.28 ± 4.30 12.50 ± 5.06 12.68 ± 2.73 3 14.10 ± .86   5.65 ± 1.73***  7.48 ± .15*  9.87 ± 4.74 13.42 ± 4.89 11.92 ± 5.10 12.93 ± 3.72 15.27 ± 2.58 (2) Influence on fasting blood glucose level of db/db mice

TABLE 3 Influences of PEG-EX-4 analogue on the glucose tolerance of db/db mice on the first day after subcutaneous injection (mean value ± SD, n = 5). Before Dosage administration After glucose administration (mmol/l) Group μg/kg 0 30 60 120 AUC Blank — 11.66 ± 4.74 22.36 ± 5.76 14.84 ± 7.40 12.74 ± 5.10 31.60 ± 11.67 control PEG-EX-4 0.03 11.64 ± 4.51 22.28 ± 6.34 13.44 ± 7.47  9.62 ± 8.27 28.94 ± 13.98 analogue 0.1 11.54 ± 1.80 20.92 ± 2.99 10.66 ± 1.86  6.02 ± 1.25* 24.35 ± 3.51  0.3 11.18 ± 4.62 18.10 ± 1.67  9.06 ± 2.23  5.34 ± 1.34* 21.31 ± 4.01  1 11.54 ± 2.50 16.82 ± 2.38  9.12 ± 4.60  5.26 ± 2.54* 20.77 ± 6.28  3 11.18 ± 4.37 16.54 ± 4.40  9.10 ± 3.21  4.44 ± 1.74** 20.11 ± 5.98 

TABLE 4 Influence of PEG-EX-4 analogue on glucose tolerance of db/db mice on the third day after subcutaneous injection (mean value ± SD, n = 5) Dosage Before After glucose administration (mmol/l) Group μg/kg administration 0 30 60 120 AUC Blank — 13.34 ± 6.85  22.28 ± 5.59 18.16 ± 6.55 14.06 ± 4.94 35.13 ± 11.22 control PEG-EX-4 0.03 11.50 ± 4.75  21.40 ± 4.06 18.64 ± 5.97 13.94 ± 6.10 34.53 ± 10.64 analogue 0.1 10.38 ± 3.65  19.66 ± 7.27 18.06 ± 2.45 11.72 ± 4.58 31.83 ± 8.03  0.3 7.72 ± 2.77 19.52 ± 2.40 16.24 ± 5.68 12.16 ± 5.76 29.95 ± 8.80  1  5.88 ± 0.92* 20.18 ± 2.82  8.50 ± 2.88*  7.04 ± 1.71* 21.46 ± 4.02* 3  5.50 ± 2.29* 18.24 ± 5.05  9.74 ± 5.57  7.72 ± 4.98 21.66 ± 9.51 

TABLE 5 Influence of PEG-EX-4 analogue on glucose tolerance of db/db mice on the sixth day after subcutaneous injection (mean value ± SD, n = 5) Dosage Before After glucose administration (mmol/l) Group μg/kg administration 0 30 60 120 AUC Blank — 14.20 ± 6.56 22.96 ± 2.86 18.70 ± 7.15 13.70 ± 7.12 35.91 ± 11.33 control PEG-EX-4 0.03 12.62 ± 7.38 22.28 ± 4.45 17.62 ± 5.40 11.50 ± 6.38 33.26 ± 10.59 analogue 0.1 14.60 ± 3.49 25.62 ± 2.45 19.76 ± 2.56 14.12 ± 2.05 38.34 ± 4.32  0.3 11.50 ± 4.55 23.58 ± 1.89 18.94 ± 3.86 12.42 ± 4.99 35.08 ± 7.04  1  8.12 ± 1.22 26.34 ± 2.09 16.54 ± 3.65  9.68 ± 2.63 32.45 ± 4.92  3  5.80 ± .48* 23.66 ± 4.50 11.66 ± 4.37  7.28 ± 2.40 25.67 ± 6.94 

TABLE 6 Influence of PEG-EX-4 analogue on glucose tolerance of db/db mice on the ninth day after subcutaneous injection (mean value ± SD, n = 5) Dosage Before After glucose administration (mmol/l) Group μg/kg administration 0 30 60 120 AUC Blank — 12.04 ± 8.47  25.90 ± 4.16 18.52 ± 8.29 14.04 ± 7.91 36.87 ± 14.14 control PEG-EX-4 1 9.60 ± 1.16 24.86 ± 1.67 17.90 ± 2.92 12.28 ± 4.08 34.40 ± 4.89  analogue 3 9.36 ± 3.66 23.46 ± 2.41 15.60 ± .02  11.84 ± 4.35 31.69 ± 6.64  *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001, in comparison with blank control group

Experimental Example 3 Preliminary Testing Results of the Influence of Peg-Exendin-4 (Peg-Ex-4) Analogue on Blood Glucose Level of KKAy Mice

1. Test Methods:

Single subcutaneous injections of PEG-EX-4 analogue at various dosages were administered to normal mice. Variation in blood glucose level at different times after injection was detected.

2. Test Results:

-   (1) See FIG. 6, the reduced blood glucose level of KKay mice lasts     for 3-4 days after subcutaneous injection of PEG-EX-4 analogue (1100     g/kg). -   (2) See FIG. 7, the reduced blood glucose level of KKay mice lasts     for 3-4 days after subcutaneous injection of PEG-EX-4 analogue (3300     g/kg).

TABLE 7 The amino acid sequences of the said long-lasting exendins of the present invention were given. Series SEQ ID Number Sequences NO HR1 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPS 4 HR2 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPC 5 HR3 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPCC 6 HR4 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhC 7 HR5 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhChC 8 HR6 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK* 9 HR7 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK*K* 10 HR8 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPC-NH₂ 11 HR9 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPCC-NH₂ 12 HR10 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhC-NH₂ 13 HR11 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhChC-NH₂ 14 HR12 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK*-NH₂ 15 HR13 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK*K*-NH₂ 16 HR14 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPS 17 HR15 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPC 18 HR16 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPCC 19 HR17 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhC 20 HR18 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhChC 21 HR19 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK* 22 HR20 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK*K* 23 HR21 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPS-NH₂ 24 HR22 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPC-NH₂ 25 HR23 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPCC-NH₂ 26 HR24 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhC-NH₂ 27 HR25 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhChC-NH₂ 28 HR26 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK*-NH₂ 29 HR27 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK*K*-NH₂ 30 HR28 HGEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPS 31 HR29 HGEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPC 32 HR30 HGEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPCC 33 HR31 HGEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhC 34 HR32 HGEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhChC 35 HR33 HGEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK* 36 HR34 HGEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK*K* 37 HR35 HGEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPS-NH₂ 38 HR36 HGEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPC-NH₂ 39 HR37 HGEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPCC-NH₂ 40 HR38 HGEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhC-NH₂ 41 HR39 HGEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhChC-NH₂ 42 HR4O HGEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK*-NH₂ 43 HR41 HGEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK*K*-NH₂ 44 HR42 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPS 45 HR43 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPC 46 HR44 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPCC 47 HR45 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPhC 48 HR46 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPhChC 49 HR47 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPK* 50 HR48 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPK*K* 51 HR49 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPS-NH₂ 52 HR50 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPC-NH₂ 53 HR51 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPCC-NH₂ 54 HR52 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPhC-NH₂ 55 HR53 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPhChC-NH₂ 56 HR54 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPK*-NH₂ 57 HR55 HGEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPK*K*-NH₂ 58 HR56 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPS 59 HR57 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPC 60 HR58 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPCC 61 HR59 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhC 62 HR60 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhChC 63 HR61 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK* 64 HR62 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK*K* 65 HR63 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPS-NH₂ 66 HR64 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPC-NH₂ 67 HR65 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPCC-NH₂ 68 HR66 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhC-NH₂ 69 HR67 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPhChC-NH₂ 70 HR68 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK*-NH₂ 71 HR69 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKNGG PSSGAPPPK*K*-NH₂ 72 HR70 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPS 73 HR71 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPC 74 HR72 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPCC 75 HR73 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPhC 76 HR74 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPhChC 77 HR75 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPK* 78 HR76 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPK*K* 79 HR77 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPS-NH₂ 80 HR78 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPC-NH₂ 81 HR79 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPCC-NH₂ 82 HR80 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPhC-NH₂ 83 HR81 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPhChC-NH₂ 84 HR82 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPK*-NH₂ 85 HR83 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPK*K*-NH₂ 86 HR84 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPS 87 HR85 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPC 88 HR86 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPCC 89 HR87 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPhC 90 HR88 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPhChC 91 HR89 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPK* 92 HR90 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPK*K* 93 HR91 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPS-NH₂ 94 HR92 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPC-NH₂ 95 HR93 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPCC-NH₂ 96 HR94 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPhChC-NH₂ 97 HR95 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPK*-NH₂ 98 HR96 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLKQGG PSSGAPPPK*K*-NH₂ 99 HR97 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLQKGG PSSGAPPPS 100 HR98 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLQKGG PSSGAPPPC 101 HR99 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLQKGG PSSGAPPPCC 102 HR100 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLQKGG PSSGAPPPhC 103 HR101 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLQKGG PSSGAPPPhChC 104 HR102 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLQKGG PSSGAPPPK* 105 HR103 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLQKGG PSSGAPPPK*K* 106 HR104 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLQKGG PSSGAPPPS-NH₂ 107 HR105 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLQKGG PSSGAPPPC-NH₂ 108 HR106 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLQKGG PSSGAPPPCC-NH₂ 109 HR107 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLQKGG PSSGAPPPhC-NH₂ 110 HR108 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLQKGG PSSGAPPPhChC-NH₂ 111 HR109 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLQKGG PSSGAPPPK*-NH₂ 112 HR110 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLQKGG PSSGAPPPK*K*-NH₂ 113 HR111 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPS 114 HR112 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPC 115 HR113 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPCC 116 HR114 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPhC 117 HR115 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPhChC 118 HR116 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPK* 119 HR117 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPK*K* 120 HR118 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPS-NH₂ 121 HR119 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPC-NH₂ 122 HR120 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPCC-NH₂ 123 HR121 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPhC-NH₂ 124 HR122 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPhChC-NH₂ 125 HR123 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPK*-NH₂ 126 HR124 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQMEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPK*K*-NH₂ 127 HR125 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPS 128 HR126 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPC 129 HR127 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPCC 130 HR128 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPhC 131 HR129 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPhChC 132 HR130 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPK* 133 HR131 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPK*K* 134 HR132 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPS-NH₂ 135 HR133 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPC-NH₂ 136 HR134 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPCC-NH₂ 137 HR135 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPhC-NH₂ 138 HR136 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPhChC-NH₂ 139 HR137 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPK*-NH₂ 140 HR138 HdAEGTFTSDL SKQNleEEEAVR LFIEWLVKGG PSSGAPPPK*K*-NH₂ 141 In table 7, C, hC, K* are the modification sites for pegylation. C is cysteine, hC is homocysteine and K* is lysine with a modified side-chain, such as the mercaptopropionic acid on the amino group of the side chain of lysine. CC, hChC or K*K* in the sequence represent two modification sites for pegylation. Nle is norleucine, dAlea is D-alanine, —NH₂ is an amide at the C-terminal. 

1. A modified exendin selected from a peptide that comprises any one of the amino acid sequences of SEQ ID Nos. 88, 89, 95 and
 96. 2. A modified exendin or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof that comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 95 and polyethylene glycol (PEG) wherein the PEG has a molecular weight (MW) between 20,000 and 60,000 daltons.
 3. The modified exendin of claim 2, wherein the MW of said PEG is 40,000 dalton.
 4. The modified exendin of claim 3, wherein the modification is obtained by connecting the polyethylene glycol and the regiospecific group at the carboxyl terminal end of the peptide.
 5. A method for treatment of type 2 diabetes, comprising administration of an effective dosage of a modified exendin or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof that comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 95 and polyethylene glycol (PEG) wherein the PEG has a molecular weight (MW) between 20,000 and 60,000 daltons to a patient in need thereof.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the MW of said PEG is 40,000 dalton.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the modification is obtained by connecting the polyethylene glycol and the regiospecific group at the carboxyl terminal end of the peptide.
 8. A method for the reduction of blood glucose in a mammal comprising administration of an effective dosage of a modified exendin or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, to the mammal, wherein the modified exendin comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 95 and polyethylene glycol (PEG), and wherein the PEG has a molecular weight (MW) between 20,000 and 60,000 daltons.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the PEG has a molecular weight (MW) of 40,000 dalton.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the modification is obtained by connecting the polyethylene glycol and the regiospecific group at the carboxyl terminal end of the peptide.
 11. A method for preparation of modified exendin or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, which comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID No. 95 and polyethylene glycol (PEG) wherein the PEG has a molecular weight (MW) between 20,000 and 60,000 daltons, comprising solid phase and liquid-phase synthesis, reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography, ion-exchange and gel filtration for purification or lyophilization.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the PEG has a molecular weight (MW) of 40,000 dalton.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the modification is obtained by connecting the polyethylene glycol and the regiospecific group at the carboxyl terminal end of the peptide. 